Editorial

Citation

Gimson, A. (2011), "Editorial", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 25 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2011.08125caa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 25, Issue 3

Over the past few months, the economic headlines have been changing in many parts of the world. One week you might think that we have weathered the worst of the financial storms – the next we hear of further doom and gloom. How do we help those in our organizations to better navigate these uncertain waters?

Clinton O. Longenecker and Daniel P. Gatins shine a bright light on what managers themselves say they need to help them “up their game.” They offer the top five gateways that we need to ensure are clear and free of obstruction – and there is not one program or course amongst them.

Developing “contextual intelligence” can also assist leaders to steer their organizations through these shifting landscapes, according to Matthew Kutz. He sets out a convincing case, including highlighting the things that can get in the way, such as our own learned behavior and how we relate to time. I imagine 360-degree feedback against his 11 behaviors would be illuminating for many leaders.

Some parts of the globe have been steeped in the wisdom of Reg Revans’s action learning approach for many years. Elsewhere, however, it is a relatively new approach. Siu Loon Hoe shares his personal reflections on his first assignment working with an action learning set and provides some useful insights based on his experience.

Antonios Panagiotakopoulos maps out the barriers that can get in the way of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investing in the development of their employees. He goes on to recommend ways to overcome them and draws our attention to some interesting examples of government support for this sector.

Sometimes, when the pressure is on, it is easy to overlook important stages in pulling together a development intervention. If you are not familiar with the ADDIE model – analyse, design, develop, implement, evaluate – then Milton Mayfield’s summary of the approach will give you an excellent overview of this framework.

Our first three review pieces centre on a theme of individual choice, beginning with “Flexible and friendly, but is it fair?” This article takes a look at the experience of a UK public-sector organization when introducing more “family friendly” working practices.

“Living to work or working to live” provides us with a personal touchstone opportunity. As you read through the examples of people being in the “flow” – from fly fishing to gardening – can you identify how your current role provides you with those opportunities? Do you strive for work/life balance or work/life integration? At an organizational level, what structures do you have in place to enable people to find this for themselves?

Ensuring you recruit people who understand the type of role they are moving into is a tricky task, particularly when the method boils down to asking the applicant if they have any questions for you. “Taking the drama out of recruitment” looks at an innovative approach being taken by a UK police force. A four-day exploration of the various types of job available allows people to focus on where they feel they have a good fit – or to deselect themselves at a very early, and therefore less costly, stage.

Finally, we have a case study – “ING invests in some daring learning” – involving an unusual mix of learning interventions. With a focus on achieving pre-set business objectives, team leaders were given scope and support in how they achieved the required results. And to be considered for promotion, the participants needed to achieve both their development goals and business results – an interesting incentive for learning.

Anne GimsonBased at Strategic Developments International, UK. anne@stratdevint.com